Fantastic Four Recasting Rumors Debunked

The Fantastic Four reboot in development over at 20th Century Fox has had its fair share of delays, with Josh Trank coming on board the project all the way back in July 2012 and the release date getting pushed back from March 2015 to June 2015 last year, but you can’t believe every behind-the-scenes story you read about the production. Take, for example, the new rumor that has cropped up over at Bleeding Cool. While the site’s sources told them that all of the work that had been done of the project was being abandoned, we have confirmation from the studio that the report is 100% false.

Dumping a major comic book movie even after it has cast its leads isn't completely unheard of - just ask those who were involved with George Miller's Justice League - but this rumor was pretty suspicious from the start. Fox is doing everything they can right now to keep with Marvel Studios, Warner Bros. and Sony by building a cinematic comic book universe that includes both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and dumping Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four would set that development years off course.

Another clue suggesting the rumor’s inaccuracy was the fact that it said the studio was dumping the script that had been penned by Simon Kinberg. It was just four months ago that the studio signed Kinberg to a three-year contract that would have him oversee the 20th Century Fox Marvel Cinematic Universe. Do you really think they would abandon everything they’ve been working on with him after such short a time, especially given the fact that he’s been a part of the franchises since 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand?

The bottom line: 20th Century Fox is moving forward with their Fantastic Four reboot and production is scheduled to start this April. Chronicle’s Josh Trank is helming the film from a script by Simon Kinberg, and the cast includes Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara as Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch and Jamie Bell as The Thing. With only a few more weeks left before the start of production we can expect to hear quite a bit more legitimate news soon, including the identity of the actor who will be playing Dr. Doom, the expected central villain. A shortlist revealed earlier this week said that Sam Riley, Eddie Redmayne, Toby Kebbell and Domhnall Gleeson are the four frontrunners of the role, but a decision has not yet been made.

For a bit more insight about the Dr. Doom casting, be sure to watch this week’s episode of Hero Blend below!